Storm Blog

Staff writer Jorge Fitz-Gibbon reports from Rye that pumps are operating all over the place to drain several feet of floodwater, with plenty of damage to first-floor homes and businesses – including the Poningo firehouse and the YMCA on Locust Avenue.

Locust Avenue resident Florim Xhema, who said his downstairs neighbor had to throw everything out, described an unreal scene.

“I haven’t ever seen it on TV like this, not even on fantasy shows,” he told Jorge this morning.

How does it look where you are? Send us your comments and photos.

As if the flooding weren’t already bad enough, the lower Hudson Valley’s record-breaking rainfall is about to meet unusually high tides this morning. How does it look in your area?

High tide will hit the Sound Shore between 10:30 and 11 a.m. The coastal flood warning will remain in effect until 1 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

New Rochelle and the town of Mamaroneck have both declared states of emergency, and hundreds of residents have evacuated their homes.
The Westchester County Airport in White Plains has gotten 7.4 inches of rain between 3 a.m. Sunday and 10 a.m. today, according to Accuweather meteorologist Rob Miller. About 6.7 inches fell on Sunday alone, he added. Flood warnings are in effect for all waterways in the lower Hudson Valley, as the storm moves “fairly slowly� towards southeastern New England, he said.
“The flooding probably won’t start to recede until tomorrow,� Miller said.
The National Weather Service has called this “among the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Floyd� in September 1999.

If you’re weather-obsessed enough to be reading this blog today, you’ll probably enjoy Chris Serico’s interview with Fox 5 meteorologist Nick Gregory of New Rochelle. Check it out “here.”:http://remote.lohudblogs.com/2007/03/16/from-sun-to-snow-gregorys-the-man-from-new-ro-in-the-know/

My colleagues across the river in Rockland report the “storm is in full force”:http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070316/UPDATE/703160439 over there.

Erik Mathews of Irvington shovels his neighbor’s driveway today. (Stuart Bayer / The Journal News)

From David McKay Wilson, Yonkers reporter:

Since 5 a.m. this morning, 30 salt trucks, and 13 sanitation vehicles with salt spreaders and plows have been working on the 360 miles of roads that criss-cross the state’s fourth largest city.

By mid-afternoon, icy conditions were cropping up on some streets, and the salt trucks were trying to keep up with the changing conditions.

“We want to get back to the main roads to hit the ice before it gets a chance to get bad,” said city spokesman David Simpson.

Due to the snowstorm, Mount Kisco officials are prohibiting parking on all village streets from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. tomorrow.

Vehicles will be ticketed or towed.

Residents can get free parking in all Mount Kisco municipal parking lots during the snow emergency.

Our transportation reporters say: All Bee-Line bus routes in Westchester are delayed because of the weather. Some bus service in Rockland has been suspended due to the snowstorm while others might soon stop operating.

In Westchester:

These bus routes are operating with detours: Route 2 – standard snow detour in Yonkers; Route 15 – standard snow detour in Cortlandt and Yorktown; Route 16 – no service to Lexington Avenue and Strawberry Road in Mohegan Lake and no service between Jefferson Valley Mall and Baldwin Place; Route 19 – no service to downtown Chappaqua.

ParaTransit service is running with up to 30 minute delays.

In Rockland:

Transport of Rockland (TOR) Route 93, 95, and Loops 1, 2 and 3 was suspended about 2:30 p.m.

Service on TOR Routes 92, 97 and 94 will continue, as long as weather and road conditions permit, until about 6 p.m.

The TOR Ferry Express shuttle and the TOR Route 59 and 91 will remain in service for the rest of today, but only for as long as road conditions allow.

The Tappan Zee Express will remain in service for the rest of the day, but commuters should expect possible delays.

The TRIPS paratransit bus service is operating for previously scheduled, medically essential trips only and will end service today by 4:30 pm.

Residents can check in with the county’s Transit Information Line at 364-3333 for service updates.

Roger Kaufman, a 63-year-old accounting manager who lives in Carmel, called reporter Diana Costello during his afternoon commute home from White Plains to complain about the treacherous driving conditions on I-684.

“The buildup on the side of the road doesn’t seem like a plow has come through here all day,” he said at about 3 p.m. “It’s pathetic.”

Another Westchester County event affected by the storm: “The Playland Ice Casino’s weekly Party Night scheduled for tonight, Friday, March 16, is canceled due to inclement weather.”